Scheduling

Both parties hereto accept that, in order to provide adequate service and care to patients and to enhance the medical education of Residents and so facilitate the realization of their educational objectives, that duty hours be limited to provide a balance of patient care, clinical experience and academics. No Resident will be required to do more than one (1) in four (4) in-house call averaged over an academic rotation. The duty period referred to is from 1700 - 0800 hours Monday through Friday, and 0800 - 0800 hours Saturday, Sunday and statutory holidays. This duty period shall be referred to as “in-house-on-call” duty.

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In services where in-house call is scheduled as partial or split-shifts (scheduled as less than 1700-0800 weekdays or 0800-0800 weekends), each part of the partial call shift or split-shift constitutes one call duty period for the purposes of call frequency maximums and call stipends.

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Exceptions, based on academic need or exceptional situations, will be monitored by RDoS and the College of Medicine. Where concerns arise, discussion will be held at a Joint Consultative Committee meeting.

In the event that a Resident voluntarily performs In-House call duty in excess of one (1) in four (4) by assignment, such work will be paid at the following rates:

There will be no prorating of these amounts for partial duty periods. Extension of hours pertaining to a critical medical situation or completion of training or service requirements will also not be considered. Extra rotations in excess of the principle of one (1) in four (4) averaged over an academic rotation will be voluntary and must have the mutual consent of the Resident and the Program Director.

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With the agreement of the Program Director or the Administrative Resident where this duty has been delegated by the Program Director, the existing practice whereby residents may interchange duty hours amongst themselves is recognized, provided that adequate patient care is provided. Permission for such interchange will not be unreasonably withheld, but consecutive twenty-four (24) hour shifts will never be considered. The reason for the rotation in excess of the principle of one (1) in four (4) averaged over an academic rotation must be clearly defined so as to be able to determine that the Resident doing the excess rotation is to be remunerated.

No Resident will be required to provide more than one (1) in three (3) call averaged over an academic rotation.

For the purpose of determining the maximum number of call shifts when a resident is on both in-house and home-call within the same rotation, the “blended call frequency formula” will apply:

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The total number of home-call assignments multiplied by three (3) plus the total number of in-house call assignments multiplied by four (4) shall not exceed a total of thirty (30) over a twenty-eight (28) day period.

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(# of Home Call Shifts x 3) + (# of In-House Call Shifts x4) < 30 in 28 day period

In the event that a particular service or elective period does not have on-call duty periods, the Resident shall not be reallocated to do on-call duty periods on another duty service unless a traditional combination of more than one (1) service on-call block applies. The foregoing shall not mean that the Postgraduate Program shall be precluded from the implementation of new call arrangements in the furtherance of educational objectives to meet changing needs or new programs.

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Persons on a service with on-call duties will not be available for on-call duties on another service (be the call in-house or out-of-house on either service).

Other than in exceptional circumstances, no Resident shall be selected to be on call for more than two (2) out of three (3) consecutive weekends. Once in every three (3) week cycle, a Resident must have from the end of the regular working day on Friday until the start of the working day on Monday morning free from clinical responsibilities.

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The onus is on the Resident to notify the upcoming rotation coordinator at least five (5) weeks in advance in order to accommodate scheduling, so that the Resident will not be required to work more than two (2) out of three (3) consecutive weekends when changing rotations. If the Resident does not have their upcoming schedule at least four (4) weeks in advance, the Resident should immediately notify the relevant schedulers who will then be responsible for aligning the two (2) call schedules so that they do not violate the two (2) out of three (3) rule.

In the interest of patient safety and Resident well-being, neither party encourages consecutive twenty-four (24) hour call. However, it is recognized that residents may on occasion choose to do consecutive twenty-four (24) hour call on certain services. With the approval of the appropriate program committee(s), Residents assigned to those services may opt to accept sequential twenty-four (24) hour call periods. This option must be exercised prior to preparation of call schedules.

13.1.1
Each Resident shall receive, during each year of Residency training, four (4) calendar weeks of paid annual vacation. This is equivalent to twenty (20) regular working days. Vacation leave is not required for activities which are considered normal aspects of a residency program such as teaching and college mandated education.
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13.1.2
Vacation leave will be arranged such that any instance in which five (5) or more regular working days are taken consecutively, Residents will not be placed on duty the weekend directly before or after, and also, any weekend(s) which falls within the vacation period. Clinical duties will end at the end of the regular working day on Friday, no later than Friday midnight.
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13.1.3
No individual rotation-specific vacation policy shall apply. In the case where rotations refuse a requested vacation period, the reason for refusal shall be shared with the resident and parent Program Director. If the reason is not deemed satisfactory by the parent Program Director, the Resident’s request shall be upheld. Any routine policy for refusal of vacation requests is deemed a violation of the collective bargaining agreement.
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13.1.4
A Resident with an appointment period of less than one (1) year shall earn and receive vacation time at the rate of one and two-third (1 2/3) days per calendar month or major portion thereof.
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13.1.5
A Resident shall receive regular pay in lieu of any vacation leave remaining at the end of an academic year if, for any reason, it was not possible to take the vacation leave within the academic year. Alternatively, if a consecutive appointment is being made, unused vacation leave to a maximum of two (2) weeks may be carried over to the following year with the approval of the Program Director.

13.1.6
Where practicable, vacation leave must be approved at least two (2) weeks ahead of the commencement date. Program Directors will not unreasonably deny vacation requests.

13.1.7
If a Resident becomes seriously ill, seriously injured, or hospitalized during a period of vacation leave, the Resident may apply to the Employer through the Office of Postgraduate Education to have the period of vacation leave replaced by sick leave. The Resident shall provide documentation to support the claim. If the request is approved, the period of vacation so displaced shall be reinstated for use as vacation and scheduled in the normal manner.

• New Year’s Day
• Family Day
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• Saskatchewan Day
• Labour Day
• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day

Residents who are scheduled and work on a statutory holiday or any portion thereof shall be entitled to either:

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1 regular day’s salary + 0.5 day’s salary + 1 day in lieu to be used at a later date

OR 1 regular day’s salary + 1.5 day’s salary

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If requesting the first option, the day in lieu must:be submitted to the College of Medicine within a thirty (30) day period before or after the day of the statutory holiday be shown explicitly on the duty schedule within the academic year wherever possible, or up to sixty (60) days into the new academic year for returning residents.

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Subject to the mutual agreement between the Resident and Program Director, this benefit will be prorated on the basis of an eight (8) hour day if a resident is on call for less than eight (8) hours on a statutory holiday.

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Payment for statutory holidays must be issued before the end of the academic year in which it was accrued.

When a statutory holiday falls on a weekend, the University will declare either the Friday before or the Monday following the weekend as the “stat in lieu” day.

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If a resident works on a stat in lieu day, they will receive one paid day off to be used within the academic year. No additional pay will be issued.

For the purpose of pay calculation, one (1) day’s pay is calculated as follows:

Normal daily rate of pay = current annual rate ÷ by 261 normal duty days

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Current annual rate is defined in Article 8.1.

Premium pay for being on duty the day of a statutory holiday shall be paid for the actual calendar day, and shall not be paid for any alternate named day.

If a statutory holiday falls on a Resident’s regularly scheduled day off or during the vacation period, such Resident shall receive an additional day off with pay. Such day off shall be shown explicitly on the duty schedule.

Subject to patient care requirements as determined by the College of Medicine, Residents will receive six (6) consecutive calendar days off duty with pay in lieu of the Christmas and New Year’s Day statutory holidays. Any additional time off contiguous with the six (6) days shall be at the discretion of the College of Medicine.

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Residents who are post call on their first of six (6) consecutive calendar days off will receive an additional day in lieu to be scheduled any time in the corresponding academic year, provided they were receiving only six (6) consecutive days off.

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It is agreed and understood that this provision takes advantage of the traditional seasonal slowdown in health services to afford Residents with a period of rest and reflection away from their regular duties between December 20 and January 5.

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There shall be no additional payment or time off for Residents who have worked on any statutory holiday between December 20 and January 5, provided they have received their six (6) day block as described above. The parties recognize that this provision represents a special situation and that regular work week and weekend is to be maintained in the duty schedule prior to and/or after the six (6) day block. Residents and Program Directors will mutually determine the necessary adjustments to duty schedules to implement this clause in a manner consistent with Article 9.

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The Employer will accommodate the interests of Residents in the observation of their religious/cultural holidays. A Resident may request, with the approval of the Program Director, that the six (6) consecutive days off duty during seasonal slowdown be scheduled to another time to accommodate the observance of an alternative religious/cultural holiday.

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The six (6) day block cannot be separated into smaller parts, and thus can only be used once in the corresponding academic year. A Resident who is granted an alternate six (6) days off to observe an alternate religious/cultural holiday shall work normal duty hours and call as applicable during the period between December 20 and January 5. They shall not receive additional payment or time off for working any stat holidays during the seasonal slowdown, provided they have received their six (6) consecutive days off within the corresponding academic year.

Where a Resident is scheduled for the middle day(s) of a long weekend, this person is entitled to a paid day(s) off. The paid day off must be arranged with the Program Director (or the Administrative Resident where this authority is delegated by the Program Director) and taken before the end of the academic year in which it was accrued, or up to 60 days into the new academic year for returning residents.

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The on-call period on the middle day is defined as 0800 to 0800. Any Resident who works a minimum of eight (8) hours (in-house or out-of-house) on the middle day is entitled to a day off. When the middle day overlaps the statutory holiday from 2400 hours to 0800 hours, the Resident is entitled to claim the greater of the two (2) benefits. The Resident shall be entitled to claim only one (1) benefit in a twenty-four (24) hour period.

Vacation time, sick leave and leave of absence for any purpose shall not be regarded as time available for on-call duty periods; rather, the number of duty periods shall be pro-rated to the number of days actually worked.

Immediately prior to the commencement of a training program, elective, or fellowship which requires a move from one location to another, Residents must be free from clinical duties (no call, no shiftwork) from the end of the regular working day Friday (but no later than 2000 hrs) through Monday before their regular working day begins. Additional time may be granted at the Program Director’s discretion.

Call scheduling models which differ from the limits outlined in this collective agreement may not be implemented until they have been reviewed and approved by both PGME and RDoS. PGME will maintain a repository of all existing alternate call scheduling models. Changes to existing alternate call schedule models will require new review and approval before implementing the changes.

Before implementing back-up call schedules, programs must obtain approval from both PGME and RDoS. Residents on back-up call schedules will be paid home-light stipends, regardless of whether they are called in to work the shift. Call conversion will apply to any shift worked where the call duties became in-house in nature during the shift, and in-house stipends will be paid in these instances. PGME will maintain a repository of all existing back-up call schedules. Changes to existing back-up call schedules will require new review and approval before implementing the changes.